ASPHALTopics | Spring 2018 | VOL 31 | NO 1

More documents

Recommendations

Info

38 OAPC | ASPHALTOPICS
UNSUNG HEROES Messier the real deal at King Paving by Steve Pecar Barry Messier Every company needs a Barry Messier. Luckily for King Paving and Construction, they have the real deal. For almost 30 years, Messier has been the go-to guy at the company, doing the things that need to be done and making sure those things were done right. From small repairs to keeping the Burlington-based plant operational, Messier has been on the job. Starting off as a mechanic at King’s truck centre where he specialized in transmissions, Messier worked his way to the asphalt plant where he remains today. Along the way he became a self self-taught fixer, taking on welding jobs and any other work that came his way, constantly learning and picking up new skills. From there he became shop steward and then moved to take on all the maintenance work at the asphalt plant. Eventually he became involved in the batching work at the plant. “I guess you could say I started off doing a few things and eventually started to learn more,” Messier says. “It was good work and I liked the responsibility.” Over the years, Messier took on even more responsibility as he continued being the man who handled the tough tasks, earning first the job as plant foreman and then plant superintendent, a position he holds to this day. His duties now include watching over the plant, doing all the repairs and maintenance, and instituting plenty of upgrades to the old plant. He is also involved in mix designs and costing and all of the asphalt operations. John Hutter, Vice President of Operations at King Paving and Construction, says the company wouldn’t be where it is today without Messier’s contributions. “I can’t stress enough how valuable Barry Messier is to the company,” says Hutter. “He can do it all. I don’t know if we could function without Barry here.” Hutter explains that the King plant is an older one, built in 1964 and in constant need of attention. “Barry manages to keep it going and always seems to be able to eke out a few more tonnes of asphalt,” says Hutter. His ability to keep the plant operational is where Messier has really made his mark, Hutter explains. If the plant goes down, Messier is there working on it. “He will tell me, ‘I’ll have it going for you by the morning’ and even if he has to stay there all night, he will get it going,” says Hutter. During his career, Messier has seen plenty of changes, but his colleagues say he is up for any challenge and can talk asphalt with the best of them in the industry. For his part, Messier says he has to stay on top of the nuances of the job, making sure the specs are met for the needs of the various municipalities and, every so often, venturing away from the plant and heading out to the job site to check on the lay down. Ultimately, he finds himself back at the plant, the place where he feels most at home. Messier says he is proud of the company’s history and pleased to be a continuing part of the equation. “The company has been great and I’ve never had any desire to be anywhere else,” Messier says. “The company has taken care of me and I take care of what needs to be taken care of.” At King Paving and Construction, they wouldn’t have it any other way. SPRING <strong>2018</strong> 39
Page 1: SPRING 2018 | VOL31 | NO1 KEVIN MAR
Page 4 and 5: VIBRATION TAMING EVERY LAYER. ASPHA
Page 7: LETTERS FROM THE ED by Vince Aurili
Page 10 and 11: Meet incoming OAPC chairman Kevin M
Page 12 and 13: Upcycle: (verb) \uhp-sahy-kuh l\: T
Page 14 and 15: Quality of Asphalt Review Study com
Page 16 and 17: This review is the first step to de
Page 18 and 19: We all want the same thing - longer
Page 20 and 21: COCO PAVING INC. - NEBO PLANT COCO
Page 22 and 23: AWARDS OUTSTAN Robin Beamish Honora
Page 26 and 27: 3D paving offers unmatched paving a
Page 28 and 29: Vögele’s Navitronic Plus 3D syst
Page 30 and 31: (Caterpillar Inc.) 3D paving wins b
Page 32 and 33: 32 OAPC | ASPHALTOPICS Bleeding to
Page 34 and 35: Exceptional northern work earns Pio
Page 36 and 37: Why Adopting Ontario Provincial Sta
Page 40 and 41: TECHNICALLY SPEAKING by Vince Auril
Page 42 and 43: 3 Performance design In a performan
Page 44 and 45: 2017 FALL ASPHALT SEMINAR 2017/18 O
Page 46: THE LAST WORD by dan gallagher What

ASPHALTopics | Spring 2018 | VOL 31 | NO 1

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?